HSCIC’S Health Survey For England 2013 – Response From Independent Age, Older People’s Charity

In response to the Health & Social Care Information Centre’s report Health Survey for England (2013), Andrew Kaye, Head of Policy and Campaigns at Independent Age, said:

“Today’s figures on social care show that for many older people struggling with day-to-day tasks, the sad reality is that they have to cope by themselves without any form of care or support. A quarter of men and a third of women aged 65 and over experience day-to-day difficulties with tasks as fundamental as getting in and out of bed, getting dressed and washing. It is hard to imagine the lives of the 3 in 10 women who struggle with at least one aspect of self-care who don’t receive any support. In fact, we know 70,000 older people say they struggle with three or more activities of daily living and worryingly don’t receive any care. That is why, as we recently warned, councils have a lot to do to reach out to older people in need, but crucially, haven’t got the funds they require to meet the vision of reducing care needs set out in the new Care Act.”